Charity's Promise
by Konoha's Springtime Angel
Summary: Being an elite battler has been the dream of nearly every young Pokemon in the Jikyuu region, save for one. Ten-year-old Landon Eevee only wishes to see his mother again, who left to become a battler before he hatched. This incident has caused him to hate battling for taking his mother away. However, a simple encounter can make Landon come face-to-face with his worst nightmare...


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon!**

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 **T** he golden sun cast its gaze upon the vast terrain, thoroughly dappling the land with light and painting the grass with calligraphic shadows of every shape and form. It bent down slowly, kissing the horizon and allowing the velvet sky to let out a faint blush. Blossoms of clouds were sewn into the gorgeous canvas that sat high above the world, covering it with distinctive splotches of flower-shaped splotches. Rays of sunlight danced through the leaves of a grove of maple trees, gently caressing them and whispering to them in reassurance.

 _I'll come back again. I promise._

For billions of years, it had always stayed true to its words, always brightening up the world the next day. It is often said that the sun looked the prettiest at sunset, when it would stroke the land and whisper softly to all beings again. At that time, it was like a blanket: warm, fuzzy, and enough to make anybody comfortable and content.

Many others have followed in its footsteps, staying true to their words after comforting someone or something. Sometimes, they called their words of consolation _sunny promises._ Those were the most beautiful, rarest, kindest of all promises, words that only spoke truth. In the Pokémon world, there wasn't really anything better than a sunny promise. However, the one who remained the best at making and keeping them was the sun itself.

Amidst the dappled trees stood two small figures of fox-like Pokémon. The one on the left stood next to the trunk of a nearby maple tree, staring at the other with bright, amber eyes. His light golden pelt quivered in the evening breeze, and his nine tails — the most distinctive trait of his species — waved around slowly and brushed the grass around his tiny paws. Sadness formed an invisible cloak around his fur-covered face, and the more he looked at the Pokémon standing next to him, the more sorrow that seemed to crowd around him.

The other Pokémon sat still in the sunlight, her forest green eyes focused on the golden sunset. Her coat of scarlet fur shimmered and seemed to sparkle in the glow of the evening, something which did not go unnoticed by the Pokémon watching her. The rays seemed to focus their light on her, dazzling her pelt and turning her shadow and the grass around her crimson. Her yellow mane reflected off some of the light, adding a golden glow to the palette that was the shadow. The watching Pokémon gazed in awe of the angel in front of him, his amber eyes wide. In the evening glow, she looked exactly like the sun — no, she _was_ the sun, glowing brilliantly like a sweet clump of flame.

Never before had he seen anything so beautiful as the gorgeous Flareon in front of him. His eyes, filled to the brim with pure love, never left her silhouette, not even to view the magical sunset. Instinctively, he reached out with his paw to touch hers, and his large tails began to wrap around her body.

He desired so badly to hold her there, and watch the sunset forever, like statues placed in a flower garden. It had been his dream for ten years — just to gaze into the sunset — and maybe at each other — for eternity. But deep down, he knew that he couldn't, no matter how much his heart wanted it. The more he thought about that distant dream that evening, the more his heart broke. The Flareon of his dreams had the same wish, yes, but she had a bigger dream that she wanted to fulfill. One that meant that there would be two — no, three — hearts shattered that evening.

It was a dream that she had to pursue alone, without her beloved.

The dream had been long delayed already, remaining in her mind ever since the day she hatched from her egg. When she had met her husband, she realized that if she were to make her dream come true, she would have to eventually leave him. She had been fearing this evening ever since, and the fateful moment had finally arrived.

As she felt his paw upon hers, she removed her gaze from the sunlight to turn her attention towards her husband. She opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her. Instead, words came out of his mouth.

"Charity, are you sure you want to do this?"

He spoke in a brittle voice — one that was edged with both care and worry. She looked at his face and caught a glimpse of his amber eyes, which were now wide and pleading. Teardrops sat on the edge of his eyelids, ready to fall. Gently, she lifted her paw and slowly wiped them away from his face.

"I don't know," she said, speaking in the soft-spoken voice she knew that he loved. "It's been my dream since I was an Eevee. But now, I'm not sure if I can handle the thought of leaving you."

In response, her husband closed his eyes and pulled her closer with his many tails. Charity did not close hers, leaving them focused on her husband's eyes instead. Her paws stretched out slightly, in an attempt to threaten any tears that dared to fall from them. Nevertheless, they continued to fall, like dewdrops on a large leaf.

"I have nine tails," he remarked, still sullen at the thought of his lover of ten years leaving. "Can't you just hold on to one?"

She shook her head dejectedly. "If I held on, I would pull it too hard, and I might hurt you in the process."

"I can just tag along, if you want," he offered, but she immediately turned it down with a sigh.

"Clarence, as much as I want you to come with me, I can't leave this little guy alone by himself," she explained, realizing herself from his grip. She padded over to the side of another maple tree, and Clarence's eyes followed her in curiosity. A moment later, Charity returned, using her muzzle to push a brown Pokémon egg with beige stripes lining it.

"Can't we take him along, too?" he inquired as soon as she stopped pushing the egg.

Charity seemed to consider this for a while, and a minute later, gave her answer. "No," she decided. "It's too dangerous out there. There are thieves, bandits, and scoundrels all over Jikyuu. I don't want them to harm our son."

"But Charity, please—" he begged, but she did not respond positively.

"No," she repeated. "Maybe when he's old enough, but for now, the maple grove is the safest place for him. Here, he shall be guarded against every harm."

As the light of the sun began to fade from around her, Charity took note of her disappearing shadow and gave a solemn expression to Clarence.

"The registration to be a Jikyuu battler ends tomorrow at sundown," she stated. "I mustn't linger any longer."

She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, and he responded by slowly closing his eyes. Clarence had always cherished her kisses with a tender smile, especially since they were composed of purely her love for him. However, he accepted this kiss with a frown. Clarence knew that this wasn't only a kiss of love.

This was a goodbye kiss.

She pulled away, her eyes shining. Charity took a step back, placing her scarlet paw over the egg. Pushing it over to her body, she pressed her muzzle to the egg and gently kissed the shell.

"I have one more wish before I depart," she announced, wrapping her fluffy tail around her unborn son.

Clarence tilted his head. "Is it to give him a name?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "I want to name him after my father, who became a battler when I was little. I looked up to him every day — he was the best battler that I had ever seen, and I even heard that he won the Jikyuu League. He was so brave, never fearing a single opponent that stood in his way. And therefore, I wish to dub him with the name that I have always thought of whenever I lost my courage."

She pushed the egg towards Clarence, who wrapped four of his nine tails around it. "Please take good care of _Landon_ , okay?"

He nodded, mentally promising to defend his son with his life. "Will you come back soon?"

"I don't know," she answered. "But I promise you, I will come back in time to visit you two again — maybe when Landon is ten. By that time, I probably will have beaten the entire Jikyuu League."

A twinkling sound was heard in the air, and on instinct, both Pokémon looked up into the darkening sky. The first star had already sewn itself into the canvas, prepared to guide Charity through the path that led to her childhood dream.

"It's time," she announced to her husband. "I must go."

Unwillingly, she bore her gaze away from Clarence, knowing that the Jikyuu League would not wait for her any longer. Turning around to take one last look at her husband of one decade, she mouthed seven final words to him.

"The sun's true love is the horizon."

With that, she strolled off towards the sunset, ready to journey on the path that she had always desired to take. During that period of time, Clarence's eyes never left her silhouette, watching her begin the pursuit of her dream. The cold wind of the night buffeted his fur, but he ignored it, making sure to stare at Charity until her figure disappeared beyond the horizon, and only the glow of the sunset remained.

After he was sure that he could no longer see the Flareon, he turned his attention to the brown egg in front of him. Bending down, he repeated his wife's actions and gently kissed it.

"I will keep you safe, Landon," he declared to his son. "You have my word."

That evening, two sunny promises were made.

One was kept.

The other wasn't.

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 _A/N: Hey, just so you know, this is my very first fanfiction. Updates may be slow due to personal issues, but I hope you enjoy the story! Please let me know by leaving a review! Thank you!_

\- Tenshi .｡+.*.｡(❁´◡`❁)｡.｡:+*


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